Duke Energy files first application for new North Carolina nuclear facility
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Duke Energy's Shearon Harris nuclear plant in New Hill, N.C. Photo: Jim R. Bounds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Duke Energy has submitted its first site application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a new nuclear reactor in North Carolina.
Why it matters: North Carolina has not opened a new nuclear reactor since the 1980s, and the addition of one is a key leg of Duke Energy's plans to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 under an agreement with the state.
- While it has filed an application, a final decision on whether to build new nuclear reactors has not been made. But Duke Energy has previously said it wants 600 megawatts of new nuclear by 2037.
Driving the news: The application, called an early site permit, is meant to address environmental and safety issues near its Belews Creek Steam Station in Stokes County well before it files for a full application.
- The early site application is "technology neutral," Chris Nolan, Duke's vice president of new nuclear generation, told Axios, which is important as the utility is still weighing what type of reactor is best suited for the site.
Between the lines: Duke's hope is that it would be able to use small modular reactors at Belews Creek, which are smaller and less expensive than the existing large reactors in the state.
- Duke is studying six types of small modular reactors, four of which use "light water" as a coolant. The other two types in the study use helium or liquid sodium as a coolant.
What they're saying: "[This application] gives us tremendous flexibility, because we're watching each one of those designs develop as we speak," Nolan told Axios. "So, if we decide that light water SMR is the right design for early deployment, but one of these advanced reactor designs proves themselves later, the [application] is useful for both."
The other side: Some environmental groups, like the Environmental Working Group, which are skeptical of new nuclear, have pushed back on claims that small modular reactors will be more cost effective and noted the technology is still in the developmental phase.
Zoom in: Duke Energy already operates nuclear plants in the Triangle, near Wilmington and near Charlotte.
- Belews Creek, which is northwest of Greensboro, would be the first one in the Triad area, and Duke already has a large workforce at a power plant there it hopes to retire in the coming decades.
- The Belews Creek site could also be eligible for up to a 40% investment tax credit under the Biden administrations Inflation Reduction Act and the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill.
What's next: Nolan said Duke has been preparing the application for the past two years, and that its review should take around 18 months.